How Did We Get In This Mess In Our Lives – Part 4
GENESIS 4 – CAIN AND ABEL AND “SPIRITUAL WARFARE” AND THE SPREAD OF SIN FROM THE INDIVIDUALS (ADAM AND EVE) TO THE FAMILY AND UNTO SOCIETY AS A WHOLE
GENESIS 3:15 – “And I will put ENMITY between thee and the woman, and between THY SEED AND HER SEED; it shall BRUISE THY HEAD, and thou shall BRUISE THY HEEL”.
Genesis chapter 4 is the natural progression of Genesis chapter 3, and the natural progression of the “ENMITY” (HOSTILITY AND HATRED) between the “Seed of woman” and between the “Seed of Satan”.
The central truth of this chapter is that God is to be worshiped, and then He has to be worshiped through a blood sacrifice, and that He is to be worshiped by means of a sacrifice, which is appropriated by faith (HEBREWS 11:4).
* Genesis chapter 4, speaks of the DIVISION – The GROWING DIVISION, between the “SEED OF THE WOMAN (EVE)” and the “SEED OF SATAN”, between “THE TWO SEEDS”, between “THE WICKED AND THE RIGHTEOUS”, between “CAIN AND ABEL”.
In Genesis chapter 3, we see the “Fall of mankind”, by “Sin” entering into mankind. In Genesis chapter 4, we see: “THE DEEPS OF SIN “AND “THE PROGRESSION OF SIN”. In Genesis chapter 3, it was the “SIN, in the INDIVIDUAL, then, in Genesis chapter 4, “SIN” spreads into the FAMILY. Like leprosy, “SIN” contaminates, spreads, and issues “DEATH” (GENESIS 2:7; JAMES 1:12 – 15)!
In Genesis chapter 3, the “SIN” WAS AGAINST GOD and in Genesis chapter 4, “SIN” WAS AGAINST GOD AND AGAINST MAN”. The “ORDER” here, is ever the same; the one who has no “FEAR OF GOD BEFORE HIS OR HER EYES”, then has no genuine respect for the rights and life of others, in this case, of his brother or then his neighbors!
GENESIS 4:1 – “And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord.”-
The name “Cain” basically means, “I’ve got him” or “Here he is”. It is likely Eve thought that Cain was the “SEED”, that God promised, the “Deliver”, who would come from Eve (GENESIS 3:15). There is a sense in which Eve said, “I have a (the) man from the Lord”.
Under normal circumstances, parents want good things for their children. They wonder if their children are destined for greatness. Adam, and especially Eve, had these expectations for Cain, but it went further than normal parental hopes and expectations. Adam and Eve expected Cain to be the “Messiah” that God promised. I believe that she thought that as she was holding baby “Cain”, and that she was holding in her arms, “The Messiah”, the Savior of the whole world, but she was really holding the first murderer.
“A MAN FROM THE LORD” – Eve had faith to believe that the little baby she held would become a man. No baby had ever been born before this time. It is possible that Adam and Eve wondered if their descendants would come forth fully mature, as they did.
GENESIS 4:2 – “And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of SHEEP, but Cain was a TILLER OF THE GROUND”.
As the boys grew, Cain became a farmer (like his father, Adam) and Abel became a Shepherd. Both were honorable occupations. Mankind was NOT authorized, until after the “Flood”, TO USE ANIMALS FOR FOOD (GENESIS 1:29; 2:16; 3:19; 9:3). As the population grew, Abel’s sheep would no doubt have been available for purchase, through trade, to anyone who wished to use one for a sacrifice or for clothing, or both.
Cain’s “Fruit of the ground” provided FOOD, and Abel’s SHEEP would provide CLOTHING (COVERING), for the family. In addition, it was probably the choice of God that sheep would be used for a “BLOOD SACRIFICE”. The lesson which God had taught Adam and Eve was not to be forgotten: “ATONEMENT” (“COVERING FOR SIN”) REQUIRED THE SHEDDING OF (INNOCENT) BLOOD (HEBREWS 9:22)!
* CAIN DECIDES TO OFFER UP A “SIN COVERING SACRIFICE” TO GOD, FROM HIS OWN HANDS (HIS OWN GOOD WORKS) – THE SAME MISTAKE THAT HIS PARENTS MADE IN MAKING “APRONS OF FIG LEAVES” – RATHER THAN MAKING A “BLOOD SACRIFICE”, OF SOMETHING THAT WAS INNOCENT!
GENESIS 4:3 – “AND IN THE PROCESS OF TIME IT CAME TO PASS, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground and offering UNTO THE LORD”.
“AND IN THE PROCESS OF TIME IT CAME TO PASS” – That over time, possibly over hundreds of years, that Adan and Eve had daughters and more sons, more than the three listed, in the Bible (GENESIS 5:4), and the population of the earth quickly grew, as the descendants of Adam and Eve, also had children and their descendants intermarried. Marriage of close relatives was not forbidden then, nor was it genetically risky.
But also over time, Cain became more “PRIDEFUL”, as he “Sweated”, from the ground that he worked and toiled, on the ground that was “Cursed”. But over time, what really got to Cain, I believe, was that he had to go to his younger brother Abel, not only to get clothing from the sheep, but also to make a sacrifice to God.
GENESIS 4:4 – “And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat therefore. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering”:
GENESIS 4:5 – “But unto Cain and his offering He had not respect. And Cain was very WROTH, and his COUNTENANCE FELL”.
GENESIS 4:6 – “And the Lord said unto Cain, WHY art thou wroth? And WHY is thy countenance fallen?
* GENESIS 4:7 – “IF THOU DOEST WELL, SHALT THOU NOT BE ACCEPTED? AND IF THOU NOT DOEST WELL, SIN LIETH AT THE DOOR. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him”.
* THE “TWO PATHS” OF SEEKING SALVATION FROM GOD – ONE IS “RIGHT” AND THE OTHER IS “WRONG”!
*God says to Cain: “DO WHAT IS WELL” (DO WHAT WAS TOLD OF YOU BY ME AND DO WHAT IS RIGHT) AND YOU WILL BE BLESSED”! Do NOT offer me the FRUITS OF YOUR OWN HANDS, A BLOODLESS SACRIFICE, but instead, follow your younger brother’s “PATH”, and offer A BLOOD SACRIFICE, and your “COUNTENANCE” WILL IMPROVE.
“SIN LIETH AT THE DOOR” – “SIN” was like a “CROUCHING PREDATOR” – SEEKING TO POUNCE ON ITS PRAY! “SIN” is a demon lurking at the door of Cain’s life, and “CAIN” would soon learn this difficult lesson. If he did not control his anger, his anger would control him. God is not condemning him (Which he had the right to do because of his unacceptable offering to God), but is encouraging him to “DO WELL”, and warning him of the dire consequences, IF HE “DID NOT DO WELL”!
GENESIS 4:8 – “And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him”.
* Cain refuses to “DO WELL” and to be BLESSED. He did not heed the warning about “SIN”, and “SIN” pounced on him, and he pounced on his brother Abel, and the rest is history!
JAMES 1:19 – “Wherefore, my BELOVED BROTHER, let every man be SWIFT TO HEAR, SLOW TO SPEAK, SLOW TO WRATH”:
JAMES 1:20 – “FOR THE WRATH OF MAN WORKETH NOT THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD”.`
GENESIS 4:9 – “And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper”?
GENESIS 4:10 – “And he said, What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground”.
GENESIS 4:11 – “And thou art thou cursed from the earth, which has opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand”;
GENESIS 4:12 – “When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth”.
GENESIS 4:13 – “And Cain said unto the Lord, my punishment is greater than I can bear”.
GENESIS 4:14 – “Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that everyone that finds me shall slay me”.
GENESIS 4:15 – “And the Lord said unto him, therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord SET A MARK upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him”.
GENESIS 4:16 – “And CAIN WENT OUT FROM THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD, and dwelt in the land of NOD, on the East of Eden”.
* Cain left “The presence of the Lord” and went into the land of “NOD”, which means “Wandering” – this meant that Cain and his descendants began to “Wonder” further, from the “Presence of the Lord” and further, into rebellion against God and in His Word.
SETH – GOD’S APPOINTED REPLACEMENT FOR ABEL
GENESIS 4:25 – “And Adam knew his wife again; and she bore a son, and called his name SETH: FOR GOD, SAID SHE, HAS APPOINTED ME ANOTHER SEED INSTEAD OF ABEL, WHOM CAIN SLEW”.
“SETH” – Was the third son of Adam and Eve, and his name means “Appointed, put, place, set, or granted,”. Seth, basically means: “To place or put something somewhere” – HOSTILITY BETWEEN “THE SEED OF SATAN” AND “THE SEED OF WOMAN” (GENESIS 3:15); “To appoint someone or replace something” (GENESIS 4:25) To appoint or establish a person in an official position” (GENESIS 41:33; PSALMS 21: 6, 7).
* GENESIS 4:26 – “And to Seth, to him also that was born a son; and he called his name Enos: THEN MEN BEGAN TO CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD”.
“THEN MEN BEGAN TO CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD” –
“CALLING ON THE NAME OF THE LORD” – IS A LIFELONG PURSUIT OF “THE GODLY”; IN WHICH GOD SAYS THIS:
PSALMS 116:2 – “Because he has inclined his ear unto Me, therefore will I CALL UPON HIM AS LONG AS I LIVE”.
PSALMS 91:14 – “Because he has set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he has known my NAME”.
PSALMS 91:15 – “He shall CALL UPON ME, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him”.
THE BEGINNING OF PUBLIC CORPORATE WORSHIP OF GOD
The first mention in Scripture of people “Calling on the name of the Lord, is in GENESIS 4:26. “Seth also had a son, and named him Enosh. At that time, people began to “Call in the name of the Lord”. Here, to “Call upon the name of the Lord” means that people began to gather for “Public Corporate Worship” and to seek help from their Creator.
THE “DIVISION” BETWEEN THE “SEED OF SATAN” AND “THE SEED OF WOMAN” WIDENS
* As the “The Seed of Satan” (Cain’s descendants) grew in number, so too did the increase of WICKEDNESS and SIN, and the gathering together in a “CITY” together (GENESIS 4:17). Cain named the “City” – “ENOCH” after Cain’s first son.
*“ENOCH MEANS ‘DEDICATED’ – THE TWO ‘ENOCHS’ OF GENESIS CHAPTERS 4 AND 5
* THE “ENOCH” OF GENESIS CHAPTER 4 – “CAIN’S DESCENDANT”, WAS “DEDICATED” TO THE “WANDERING AWAY” FROM “THE PRESENCE OF GOD” AND THE PEOPLE GATHERED TOGETHER FOR THEIR SHARED PURSUIT OF – WANDERING AWAY FROM “THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD”, INTO A “CITY”!
*THE “ENOCH” OF GENESIS CHAPTER 5 – “SETH’S DESCENDANT”, WAS “DEDICATED “TO “PURSUING AND BEING IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD” AND STOOD OUT (THEY SEPARATED THEMSELVES) (2 CORINTHIANS 6:17), FROM “THE CORRUPT SOCIETY”, THAT THEY LIVED IN – AND THAT THEY BEGAN TO “CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD”!
*When Abram entered into “Canaan”, he camped between “AI” (WHICH MEANS “HEAP OF RUINS” AND “BETHEL” (WHICH MEANS “HOUSE OF GOD”. There, he built “An altar to the Lord” and “CALLED ON THE NAME OF THE LORD” (GENESIS 12:8). In other words, ABRAM PUBLICLY THANKED GOD, PRAISED HIS NAME, AND SOUGHT HIS PROTECTION AND GUIDANCE. Years later, Abraham’s son, Isaac, would “build an altar unto the Lord” and also “CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD” (GENESIS 26:25).
* TO “CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD” IS TO INVOKE THE PROPER NAME OF GOD IN AN AUDIBLE WAY, IN PUBLIC PRAYER AND PRAISE. TO “CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD” IS TO APPROACH GOD, IN THANKSGIVING, WORSHIP, AND PETITION IN PRAYER AND IN SO DOING PROCLAIM THE NAME OF THE LORD. TO “CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD” IS TO PRAY AND SEEK GOD IN A MORE PUBLIC AND SOLEMN MANNER. THOSE WHO ARE “THE CHILDREN OF GOD”, WILL NATURALLY “CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD”!
“CALLING ON THE NAME OF THE LORD” IS BASIC FOR “SALVATION” AND PRESUPPOSES “REPENTANCE UNTO AND FAITH IN THE LORD”. GOD PROMISES TO “SAVE” THOSE IN FAITH, WHO “CALLS UPON HIS NAME”: “EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED” (ROMANS 10:13). EVERYONE WHO INVOKES THE NAME OF GOD, FOR “MERCY AND SALVATION”, BY OR IN THE NAME OF CHRIST JESUS, SHALL BE SAVED” (ACTS 2:21). “NEITHER IS THERE SALVATION IN ANY OTHER: FOR THERE IS NONE OTHER NAME UNDER HEAVEN GIVEN AMONG MEN, WHEREBY WE MUST BE SAVED” (ACTS 4:12).
